Q&A With The Candidate

As a PTA leader and business owner, I've managed budgets and volunteers.  As supervisor, I'd enact a fund balance policy and firm plans for our reserves. 

In nine months on the Town Board, I've brought 21 residents onto our boards and committees, formed two new committees, advanced the Comprehensive Plan Committee and helped revive the Conservation Advisory Council.

As supervisor, I'd bring more people to the table and give them the structure and support to produce results.

My goal: a government that communicates, spends responsibly, plans ahead and gives everyone a chance to shape Pleasant Valley's future.

What are the three biggest issues facing the community, and which is your top priority? Why?

Cost of Living: Keeping property taxes manageable starts with responsible budgeting and making sure residents get the services they pay for. We must evaluate how taxpayer dollars are spent, plan for long-term expenses and plan any reserves. 

The goal is to keep taxes predictable while delivering value for every dollar spent. 

I also voted to pass Good Cause Eviction protections to help prevent arbitrary evictions that force tenants out so landlords can charge higher rents to new tenants, contributing to rising rental costs.

Downtown Decline: Pleasant Valley’s Main Street hamlet needs renewed energy. I want to work with businesses, and county and state leaders to revitalize vacant storefronts, support small business, improve walkability and preserve our historic character. 

Last October, I partnered with HVCU to create a farmer’s market, which has been adopted by local farmer Doug Nieters with great success. Handmade and Harvest will host 4 events in 2026, and has dozens of home-based businesses selling their wares. 

These markets are pollinators for growing businesses, for example Hudson Valley Cold Pressed Oil  and Hudson Valley Skin Care- both Pleasant Valley brands - grew into larger operations partly through sales at local farmer markets.

Quality of Life: Quality of life means creating a town where people want to live, work and raise their families. As founder of Pleasant Valley’s Beautification Committee, I’ve brought residents together to improve public spaces and build community pride. 

We had a workday with 55 hours of volunteer effort to improve the Historic Mill Site, and in the fall an event that planted 300+ tulips. I want to expand these efforts and work with the groundskeeper and recreation director to deploy the town's Parks & Recreation Reserves for additional improvements. 

My top priority is to preserve what makes Pleasant Valley special while making it an even better place for generations to come.

What is your top priority for increased local government spending, and what is your top priority for reduced spending? How would you address the impact on taxpayers?

Priority for Investment: My top priority is revitalizing Pleasant Valley’s hamlet into a gathering place. I established the Beautification Committee, which helped the town earn Pro-Housing Community certification, opening doors to state funding opportunities that I will work to unlock as town supervisor. 

I also established the Economic Development Committee, which is pursuing funding for a comprehensive plan update — an important step toward securing grants and creating a community vision for the future.

As supervisor, I would build on this work, partnering with residents, businesses and county and state leaders to attract outside funding and preserve our historic character.

Priority for Reduced Spending: I want to improve budget accuracy and make better use of existing funds. A state 2024 audit identified a pattern of underestimating revenues and overestimating expenses in Pleasant Valley. I worked on the board to improve this in our 2027 budget.

I support clear fund balance and reserve policies to guide financial planning. Every dollar we collect from taxpayers should have a plan. The truth is Pleasant Valley has reserve funds for capital expenses and recreation that don’t have any planned use. And we have excess unassigned fund balance that should be reallocated for planned purposes. 

During budget discussions, I highlighted existing Park and Recreation funds that could cover needed equipment rather than using unassigned funds.

I also looked at expense lines that had never been fully used, and noted where they could be lowered to reflect actuals. When budgeted funds go unspent year after year, we are taxing you for a service you're not receiving and stowing money in the bank. Especially when residents are struggling with high costs, we should be careful that every dollar we collected is needed.

What is your plan for improving transparency, accountability and public trust in local government?

As a former community reporter, I strongly value transparency, accountability and public trust. I have shown this as a town board member: with frequent communication through a newsletter and social media about town board decisions and upcoming hearings. I believe that sharing information leads to higher-quality engagement with the community. Bringing an informed community into the decision-making process then builds public trust. I will continue to proactively share, communicate and build more committees so that more residents can be involved in building on our shared vision for Pleasant Valley.

How should local leaders approach housing, economic development and growth in the community?

Housing, economic development and growth in the community all need to be addressed through the lens of our common vision for our town. That's the town's comprehensive plan. 

That plan guides decisions before the town board and planning board. But Pleasant Valley's plan is 17 years old.

That's why the Economic Development committee I created started the process to update the comprehensive plan. The committee is applying for a matching grant to fund the process. They recommended the town board create a Comp Plan committee, so I carried that forward. 

The group also already interviewed planners, so that we're ready when the grant comes in. We need to ensure that our town's approach to housing, economy and growth is guided by what the community who lives here now values. I'm already taking the steps to do that, but can enhance that work if elected as supervisor.

Questions on other topics? 

Email me at meghanborland4ny@gmail.com